The Wedding
by MathemagicianSVU
Summary: Alex and Astra meet at Kara's wedding.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I started writing this one-shot (I will post it as multichapter and I might actually extend it as well) in March, and sort of abandoned it for months. But two days ago I decided to take a look at it again, and so I thought maybe I could still post this.**

 **If y'all like it well enough, I will post the rest of it as well. :) Because - you know - there's not enough General Danvers on AO3 and I will sail this ship with or without canonical gayness going on.**

 **Anyway, this sort of introduces the setting, and I hope it interests y'all enough to want to read more of it. ^^**

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Alex Danvers was about done with her mother. She had been talking about what a great day it was for Kara's wedding, and sneakily brought the subject to Alex's future wedding. And why she wasn't dating anyone. If she could set Alex up with 'that cute boy from the grocery store' she went to every week. Because 'Alex's biological clock was ticking'.

Alex was used to this kind of talk. Her mom always had something to say about her way of life. If not her job, then her dating life. Or her preference for guns over things that 'normal people' enjoy. Or basically anything that 'normal people' didn't do.

She thought that the only thing her mother was really proud of was that she was a scientist: a bio-engineer of all things. But the fact that she hadn't exactly ended up in that field was something that annoyed her, and she would let that known to Alex at all times.

She had become very good at cancelling out her mother's talk about all of it, turning it down until it was just white noise in the background of her thoughts.

And so she did so, for the nth time that day. Eventually, she downed her drink, and excused herself, telling her mother she would go to the restroom.

She didn't actually have to go, but she was tired of having to listen to her mother's endless rants. Roughly five minutes later she entered the room again. The newly-weds were being cute on the dance floor, and Alex smiled to herself. She had never seen Kara as happy as she seemed in that moment, and it was nice to witness it.

Alex found herself standing against the wall, observing the scenery around her, and especially how Kara fit into it. She seemed to be in her element; to be exactly where she belonged. And Alex couldn't stop herself from smiling even broader. After all the girl had been through, she deserved to be as happy as she appeared to be.

Her eyes wandered to the rest of the room, scanning her surroundings being a habit that would probably never die. It was so ingrained on her that it had become second nature to her. She was already thinking about her next move. It wasn't likely that anyone would question why she was standing away from the revelry, but she felt like she should try and enjoy the party.

Not necessarily because she thought Kara wanted her to, but because she wanted to have good memories of a day that would be so important to Kara. The happiest day of her life. Kara was typically the kind of person that would focus on the good in all situations, even if hers were filled with tragedy and pain, but this day seemed to be detached from all of it. Like a big bubble was surrounding her, separating her from the rest of the world.

She allowed herself to enjoy her isolation for another minute, until she forced herself to walk back to the tables. About half the people had joined the happy couple on the dance floor, some of them had gone outside to the small terrace on the front side of the building, or some of them were standing at the edge of the dance floor. About a quarter of them was still sitting at the tables, mostly elderly people, but a few younger ones that were talking to some of the older ones as well.

Her mother had vacated the table they had been sitting at, and she was glad she didn't have to find an excuse for blowing her off like she had. And she wasn't particularly in the mood to dance, so she made her way to the tables, her eyes settling on a woman that looked familiar, but she was sure she had never met. Dark curls were falling over her shoulders, her fingers playing with the stem of her wine glass.

If Alex had to judge the woman's posture, she would say she was slightly bored. She wasn't sure if that were the exact reason why she was drawn to the woman, but she let her feet guide her to the table the woman was sitting at. She pulled out the chair next to the woman, gesturing at it as she asked: "Is this seat taken?"

The woman's eyes met hers, and her lips quirked up in a smile. "I have a feeling it's about to be." She nodded, amusement spreading on her face like a wildfire. But as soon as she had shown any kind of sign that she enjoyed the idea of Alex's company, it changed to a curiosity that made Alex think she was up for an interrogation. Although she had to admit to herself that she didn't mind that sentiment at all.

Something about the woman intrigued her. If not the grey eyes that she kept trained on her ever since she had pulled out the chair, then the mystery that seemed to linger around the woman. Much like her perfume. It was a very subtle smell, but there was something mesmerizing about it.

Alex's thoughts trailed off for a moment, but she quickly reminded herself that she was probably supposed to sit down on the chair she had pulled out. Standing there foolishly would certainly not be the way to go. So she extended her hand to the other woman, who shook it. "And to whom am I lending this chair?" She questioned, a smile still in place.

"I'm Alex." She greeted. "Kara's sister." She gestured in the general direction of the dance floor to emphasize the words.

"Astra." The other woman countered, not adding as to what her connection to the married couple was. Alex thought the woman was playing a silent game, letting Alex take the lead over this conversation, without actually having any control. She wasn't sure what her aim was, but she was bound to find out. So instead of outright asking her who she was, she decided to use her deductive skills.

"You look a lot like Kara's mother." Alex pointed out, her eyes fixed on Astra. The movements in her face told her that she was right. That there was a very obvious reason for the resemblance. "You're her sister."

"You have guessed that correctly." Astra approved. She tilted her head slightly to the right, eyeing Alex carefully. "So what does that make us?" The way she had spoken contained a hidden suggestion, and Alex wasn't sure how to interpret it. But she wasn't about to give up finding the answer before she had even started to.

"Nothing."


	2. Chapter 2

"Nothing." She retorted, but she added a hint of a smile for good measure. One of the waiters that was walking around with a tray of glasses filled with champagne passed the two of them, and Alex took one of the glasses, thanking the waiter in the process. She took a sip of the sparkling liquid, enjoying the taste. Her eyes were looking over the rim of her glass, latched onto the other woman's eyes in an almost defiant manner.

"You seem to be quite sure of that." Astra remarked, her eyes boring into Alex's. If Alex didn't know any better, she'd think that Astra was trying to read her. Except it was way more profound than she was used to with other people. She was basically undressing her with her eyes. The weirdest thing about it was that it didn't even make Alex uncomfortable. She was actually almost enjoying herself.

"So how is it that I've never seen you around?" Alex inquired curiously, ignoring Astra's comment. She was way more interested in the other woman and why Kara never seemed to be talking about her. Her parents had died in a fire when she was only thirteen years old, and she had moved into Eliza and Jeremiah's place soon thereafter. Kara had told her everything about her parents, but nothing substantial about her aunt.

"I was in prison." It was said with an utter disregard for how it sounded, purely for shock value, Alex reckoned. And the fact that Astra didn't seem ashamed by the sentiment at all, left Alex somewhat fazed. The moment the words rolled out of the older woman's mouth, she was just gulping from her champagne, which went down the wrong way. She snorted, the champagne going up through her nose, leaving an awkward sensation in her nostrils.

She started coughing uncontrollably, Astra attempting to make amends by patting her on her back. However, a wicked grin was spreading on her face, which forfeited her helpful gesture almost in its entirety. When she had finally regained control over her breath, Astra stopped patting her back, but her hand lingered a little too long on her back. Her dress had an open back, and she could almost swear that she felt a very soft brush of fingers across her skin before she drew her hand back.

"Prison?" Alex questioned incredulously, her voice sounding hoarse from all the coughing. She figured it would help to smear her throat with some water, but she was going to be wary of any fluids until she knew that she wouldn't be caught by surprise again, having another incident like the one she'd just had.

"Yes." Astra responded, not giving away one bit of the story behind it. "What do you do for a living?" She asked, as if it were her turn in their two-way interrogation. Alex realized that if she kept giving elaborate answers to Astra's liking, she would answer her own questions as well, so she did what she thought was best to keep the conversation going. To keep unraveling the mysteries that seemed to dwell around the woman.

"I'm with the DEA." The younger woman answered dutifully, her eyes carefully scanning the other woman's face for any signs. Signs for what, she wasn't sure, but she was intrigued by Astra and she was bound to remember every movement of every muscle as she listened and spoke. "But I have a PhD in bio-engineering."

Astra appeared to be impressed and Alex couldn't help but feel proud of herself. She didn't know why she liked having some kind of approval from the other woman, but she felt a warmth inside of her because of it. "So, smart and tough." Astra marveled. For a good moment Alex thought she would add another feature to the list, but the woman kept quiet.

"So what crime did you commit?" Alex asked bluntly, feeling her confidence grow with the minute.

"Eco-terrorism." She countered without even attempting to sound ashamed to some extent. She half-smiled at seeing Alex's face, who in return looked at her like she'd just grown a second head. "Seems like we have more in common than we initially thought." She proclaimed with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"You're not seriously comparing eco-terrorism with bio-engineering, are you?" Alex scoffed, raising her eyebrows. She had visualized the woman as many things, but not offensive in such a way.

"I would never." Astra responded, tilting her head again. "You didn't think I was, did you?" She countered, almost effectively turning the accusation around in Alex's direction.

Alex squinted her eyes at the other woman, trying to draw the right conclusion, but she figured that it was a dangerous thing with Astra to make assumptions based on the things she said. The woman was a collection of mixed signals that Alex didn't know how to interpret.

It was a combination of smoking signals and Morse code while trying to communicate in sign language. She just didn't know which one to pick, and she guessed that even if she could pick one of them, it turned out to be a message in a bottle after all. With Astra, she couldn't read the signals, because when push came to shove, there was another secret option that she didn't know about.

Alex had only known the woman for ten minutes or so, and she'd already drawn that conclusion. She already knew that this woman was anything but an open book to her. Years of practice had taught her to read people quite well. She had sat through her fair share of interrogations and had led a lot of them at her job, and she was very capable at it. But all of her acquired skills were of no use now.

She was surprised by the fact that it didn't even seem to bother her all that much either. She was curious, to the point where she wanted to peel away every layer of mysteriousness until she knew everything, like some strange kind of competitiveness. She didn't understand her interest in the woman, but she didn't have the time to find out and contemplate the matter.

"I've studied biochemistry in college." Astra eventually explained, shrugging slightly. "When I finished, I enlisted in the Marines." Her eyes diverted from her for a second, barely noticeable, but Alex caught it.

"But you decided to use the things you've been taught along the way to further your terroristic agenda?" Alex inquired, with a hint of venom in her voice. She hadn't meant to sound so rude, but she was a fighter for justice at all costs, and she wasn't going to be friendly with a person that turned to terrorism as a measure to push her agenda.

"You are mistaken." Astra said dismissively. "There was no malicious intent. I merely set a person on fire. By accident." She stipulated.


End file.
